Firm Profile
photo

    We Represent People With:

  • Physical Disabilities and Impairments, Psychiatric and Mental Disorders, Bipolar, PTSD, Deafness, Blindness, HIV/Aids, Cancer, Epilepsy, Schizophrenia, Depression, Mental Retardation, Cerebral palsy, Multiple Sclerosis, Diabetes, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, Herniated Disk, Fibromyalgia, Lupus, Arthritis, Stroke, Seizures, Hepatitis, Heart and Lung disease, Meniere's Disease, Crohn's Disease, Colitis, L.B.S., Myasthenia Gravis, Severe Headaches and Sleep Disorders, Amputation, Vocational Disabilities, MRSA who have wrongfully been denied their benefits.
Home :: FAQ :: Basic Questions Social Security Disability

What is my "Alleged Date of Onset of Disability and why is it important to select the correct date?

The date alleged for an onset of disability "AOD" is the date from which entitlement to Social Security Disability Insurance benefit entitlement (less the 5 month elimination period for financial entitlement and payments), SSI (Immediate entitlement to payment of funds on AOD), Medicaid (Immediate entitlement on AOD) and Medicare (less the 2 year elimination period) entitlements run. The AOD should be the first day when a claimant  was unable to engage in SGA, "Substantial Gainful Activity". This term of art when broken down essentially means, "Could a claimant work a 40 hour week without significant interruption from symptoms and/or need for treatment?" AND, no matter how sick the claimant was, and no matter how many work days the claimant missed, was the claimant still able to make gross earnings of $940 per month? If the answers to both are "No", then the claimant is unable to engage in SGA and hence, is disabled by the required definition AOD and SGA have different applications and erroneous interpretations by those unfamiliar with the application of the term. For example, In cancer cases, the patient is most often denied because the SSA will take a wait and see attitude. This is because people do get better and the applicant must be incapable of SGA for at least 12 months after their AOD.

Regarding the proper onset date of disability within the AOD, it is important to get the right onset date, as the wrong date holds up the SSD/SSI process until the proper date is decided by a judge.  I have had cases, where, for example a bipolar adult will say the onset of disability began in 1977 when he was 8, but he worked until 2002 when he had a nervous breakdown from which he never recovered or returned to work.  Such a case was won by seeing the error and filing a written formal motion to move the onset date to the last day of continuous work i.e., first day of psychiatric hospitalization.  Unfortunately, we do not get these type of files until they are ready for hearing and people have suffered too long.

So getting the proper AOD is very important.  It is why an attorney should be consulted immediately after a claim is denied, so that one does not necessarily have to wait for a hearing